


Trust(worthy)

by lil_Tasha



Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Injured Juliet Higgins, Light Angst, Miggy - Freeform, Mild Hurt/Comfort, helpful Thomas Magnum, soft Juliet Higgins, soft Thomas Magnum, squint to see the angst, stubborn Juliet Higgins, super fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:40:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23886856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lil_Tasha/pseuds/lil_Tasha
Summary: Takes place after the events in 1x16.
Relationships: Juliet Higgins & Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV, Juliet Higgins/Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV
Comments: 14
Kudos: 114





	Trust(worthy)

**Author's Note:**

> I've noticed that the show seems to do an awful job at keeping track of any of Higgins’ injuries following fights and whatnot, so I’m writing this as my own little gap “fill in” after Higgins’ fight in 1x16.
> 
> Plus, who doesn’t want some soft!Magnum helping an injured, but stubborn!Higgins?

It’s interesting the amount of pain your body can block out due to adrenaline and how it all comes crashing down on you in one unbearable wave when said adrenaline seeps away. Higgins was beginning to regret not taking Magnum and Katsumoto’s advice to have the medics at the crime scene check her over. She had quite stubbornly insisted she was fine because at the time, she did feel _fine_. But that was over ten hours ago and now, as the majordomo and Magnum were on their way back to Robin’s nest after Brad’s ribbon cutting ceremony, her aching body was certainly making known its contempt for her earlier decision not to see a medic.

Between the throbbing pain in her right side and lower back that reminded her of their presence every breath she took and the migraine splitting her head, Higgins was agitated, and could hardly focus. These factors made for a nasty attitude cocktail that had her snapping at Magnum when he nudged her arm. He pulled his hand back as though she’d just set it on fire and held it up in surrender.

“Is that how you thank someone for being concerned about you?”

The PI’s voice was teasing, but she noticed the slight edge it held, or maybe she imagined it, she honestly wasn’t even sure. Whichever it had been, it didn’t resonate well with her already sour mood.

Her brown eyes were just as cutting as her voice when she told him, “I am _not_ in the mood for your mockery right now, Thomas.”

That’s when Magnum knew that something was _definitely_ wrong. Higgins rarely called him by his first name, but the occasions she did, she was either very serious or upset. In addition to the tone of her voice, he took into consideration the look on her face and in her eyes, and assumed it was the latter.

“You’re in pain, aren’t you?” he asked gently.

“I’m fine,” Higgins insisted and frankly, she’d lost count of how many times those two words had left her mouth throughout the day.

Despite wanting to retort, Magnum decided it would be in both of their best interests— _mainly his_ —not to, and simply nodded. They were less than five minutes from the estate anyway.

With the grateful realization that he wasn’t going to reply working its way into the wreckage that was her brain, Higgins allowed her head to fall back against the headrest, and her eyes to close. There hadn’t been many other cars on the road, but for the ones that were out, their blinding headlights rushing by made her somewhat nauseous.

The majordomo had only intended to rest her eyes for the few remaining minutes it would take to return to the estate, not fall asleep. So when Magnum pulled into the driveway and glanced over to find his partner oblivious to the world around her, he was a little taken aback because being asleep left you vulnerable, and he knew Juliet Higgins did _not_ like being or feeling vulnerable. He also knew she most likely wouldn’t appreciate him carrying her inside.

After a short internal debate, the PI climbed out of the Ferrari, walked over to the passenger’s side, and opened the door. Reaching out, he gave her shoulder a gentle nudge, then another a bit harder when she didn’t rouse.

“Higgy, we’re back at the estate,” he told her, nudging her for a third time. “Wake up.”

The fourth nudge startled her awake and her hand shot out to capture his wrist in a vice grip. Magnum grunted and dropped his shoulder toward her body to keep her from inflicting serious damage on his wrist.

“Higgins, it’s me. It’s Magnum.”

It took longer than it should have for her to mind to catch up to what her body was doing and give her hand the command to _let go of his wrist_. He retracted his arm and stood, other hand rubbing at his now sore wrist.

“Bloody hell,” Higgins grumbled, bringing a hand up to her face, thumb and forefinger massaging her temples. “I didn’t mean….I didn’t _know_ ….” her words faltered and she exhaled heavily, clearly exhausted and frustrated. The action jarred her injured side and she bit her lip.

_Weird_.

Magnum expected more of a _that oughta teach you_.

“Don’t worry about it,” he replied.

Juliet scoffed as she lowered her hand and unbuckled her seatbelt. “I nearly broke your wrist, Magnum. I wouldn’t say that’s nothing to worry about.”

He shrugged and took a few steps to the side. “It’s not like it was intentional.”

Giving him an unreadable look through half-lidded eyes, she swung her feet out of the car, and pushed herself up. Everything happened too quickly then and although her muddled brain could register that she was falling, it couldn’t send her body swift enough instructions to prevent it. But she never hit the pavement. Instead, a pair of arms caught her and after a couple of moments, lifted her up completely. She vaguely remembered hearing the Ferrari’s door close or the short trip from the driveway up to the building or the way Magnum’s arms tightened ever so slightly around her limp body.

Zeus and Apollo greeted the PI with low growls in their throats and lips pulled back into snarls when he entered the main house. He froze and watched with skeptical eyes as they assessed the situation. Their growls morphed into whimpers and Apollo stretched his neck out to sniff at Juliet’s arm.

“It’s okay,” Magnum spoke softly. “She’s okay.”

And as if on cue, the woman in question shifted in his arms, wincing as the movement disturbed her pained side. It had the lads parting and moving to stand on either side of Magnum who made his way to the couch to set Higgins down. Her eyes were closed and breaths shallow.

“Higgy, wake up.”

“M’gnum….” she trailed off.

“Hey. I’m here,” he whispered, kneeling down in front of her face. “What hurts? What can I do?”

But she didn’t reply.

“Higgins,” he tried with a light touch to her shoulder. “Come on, girl.”

Zeus licked at her forehead while Apollo attempted to nuzzle his nose underneath her hand with a quiet whimper. She stirred, eyes cracking open, and was met by Magnum’s concerned, but relieved face.

“There she is.”

“Please, lower your voice.”

“I’m already whispering,” he said to her, sounding almost confused. “If I lower my voice anymore, I won’t be talking.”

She gave him a lazy half grin and replied, “Precisely.”

The PI rolled his eyes. “Seriously though, what hurts?”

Higgins sighed and from the pinched look on her face that immediately followed, he knew she regretted it the moment the breath abandoned her lungs. Her hand stroked Apollo’s head as the nauseating wave of pain washed over her. “My head, side, and lower back are where the worst of the pain is. And please, don’t patronize me. I don’t want to hear ‘I told you so’ right now, okay?”

Magnum nodded. “What can I do?”

“I need to get to my room. Can you help me up?”

His brows furrowed together. “Are you sure?”

“Magnum, you asked what you could do to help,” she reminded him, voice pointed, “so I’m telling you.”

“Alright.”

Holding his hands out, Higgins took them in her own, and together, they got the majordomo to her feet. It was a pleasant surprise to not feel the world shift beneath her as she gradually headed toward her room. Once at her door, she asked if Magnum could get her a glass of water and two Tylenol. Wordlessly, he complied, but only after briefly lingering by her doorway as she walked through the threshold and into the room, the lads at her heels. If Higgins noticed, she didn’t say anything.

Juliet balanced against the wall to remove her shoes before trudging blindly through her room into the bathroom. Her hand found the light switch and flipped it on. She squinted and focused on trying to get her trembling fingers to cooperate with undoing the buttons of her shirt and untying the knot at the bottom. She then let it fall from her shoulders, down her arms, and onto the floor.

Looking into the mirror proved to be more of a challenge than she would have liked to admit and when she finally did, her eyes were not pleased with what they saw. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew there was going to be bruising due to the amount of times her body had come in contact with the solid floor, in addition to the man’s fist landing a blow to her right side. What she didn’t expect was for it to be _this_ severe. At least now she could connect the immense pain to something.

Removing the two layers of concealer from her left cheek and around her neck took time and patience with a slew of expressive words thrown into the mix. Hyper focused on the task at hand, she didn’t notice Magnum walk in, and immediately turn his back to her when he saw she was only half dressed. The lads only looked at him, then returned their attention to Higgins.

“That looks pretty bad,” he commented.

“Yes, I’m aware,” she retorted, throwing her eighth makeup-remover-soaked cotton ball into the trash.

There was an awkward beat of silence, then Magnum informed her, “I have the water and Tylenol you asked for.”

“Thank you. You can just set in on my nightstand, I’ll come get it.”

He nodded and rushed off. A minute or two later, Higgins walked back out to her room, put on a fresh shirt, and changed into a pair of sweatpants, then downed the two pills and glass of water left on her nightstand. She found Magnum waiting for her in the kitchen.

“How are you feeling?” the PI asked genuinely.

“It could be worse,” she answered, heading to the kitchen sink, and setting the empty glass down.

Zeus and Apollo were nudging adamantly at her legs and Juliet didn’t have time to shoo them away or be confused before a sudden surge of pain slammed into her and she gasped, hand seizing the edge of the counter, and the other pressing against the middle of her forehead. She squeezed her eyes shut, tears threatening to fall.

Magnum was at her side in an instant, his hands hovering, unsure of what they should do or where they could touch. So he voiced aloud what he planned to do. “I’m gonna help you over to the couch, okay?”

“Mmhmm.”

With one hand at her elbow and the other high on her back, Magnum guided his partner to the couch where he helped her to lie down.

“I’ll be right back.”

Juliet wasn’t certain how long had passed before Magnum returned. He kept his voice low and soft as he spoke to her, though her mind couldn’t force its way past the pain to try and focus on what he was saying to her. She hardly registered him sitting next to her and adjusting her head so that it was resting in his lap or his gentle hands pulling hers away from her head. She did, however, smell something minty and moments later, feel a pleasantly cool sensation combating the sharp one spreading throughout her head.

“....peppermint essential oil….on your nightstand….helps migraines….”

The PI’s voice faded in and out and she caught bits and pieces of what he was telling her as he massaged the peppermint oil onto her temples. Under any other circumstances, she would be telling him off for the excessive amounts of touching. Except this _actually_ felt quite nice, so she supposed it wouldn’t be the end of the world if she let it slide just this once.

Zeus and Apollo were at her feet on the other end of the couch, finally having calmed now that their mistress had as well. Usually, Juliet didn’t allow them on the furniture, but she didn’t have it in her to tell them to get down.

By the time Magnum stopped what he was doing, she had drifted off to sleep. He considered waking her up so she could go to bed or at least getting up himself to leave her be, but this was the most at peace he had seen her all day. Her features were soft and relaxed and being in a deep sleep, she seemed to be breathing normally. So he made the decision to stay.

The sun was just beginning to rise when Higgins forced her eyes open. Everything was obnoxiously bright which she found odd considering she always kept the blinds in her room closed—

_What?_

She squinted and shifted, wincing a bit at the pull in her side. Her bed felt…. _different_ as well. Slowly, the majordomo sat up, eyes flitting around the room that was definitely _not_ her bedroom. When her eyes landed on Magnum on the couch next to her, she didn’t know what to make of it. Needing to put distance in between them, she rose from the couch, and padded into the kitchen. Snapping her fingers, the lads hopped off the couch, and followed her.

“Juliet Higgins doing the walk of shame. That’s a sight I never thought I’d see,” Magnum teased.

Higgins froze in her spot midway to the kitchen and turned to face him. “It’s not a walk of shame when you don’t sleep with the person, Magnum,” she bit back.

“Well, _technically_ —“

But her suddenly narrowed eyes and piercing gaze had him thinking twice about finishing that sentence.

He tried again, voice somehow sounding more genuine than it did last night. “How did you sleep by the way?”

“Quite well actually,” she admitted. “Thank you.”

“Glad I could help.” Because there wasn’t anything Thomas Magnum despised more than not being able to help someone he cared about who was in pain. “Do you get them often?”

“Pardon?”

“Migraines,” he clarified. “I know that peppermint essential oil can help with migraines and I saw it on your nightstand when I’d been in your room which was why I grabbed it.”

“Are you always so nosey?”

“Do you always try to redirect a conversation when something comes up that you don’t want to talk about?”

Sighing softly, Higgins answered his first question, “A few times a week.”

There was a beat of silence.

Magnum gave her a small smile and told her, “Thank you for trusting me.”

With a smile of her own, she replied, “Thank you for being someone I can trust.”

**Author's Note:**

> For the sake of my sanity and because I love this show, I actively ignore the small plot holes, many of which involve injuries that seem to be nonexistent within a couple of scenes (like in 1x16, after the fight, the red mark on Higgins' left cheek was gone by the next scene we see her in as well as the red marks around her neck).
> 
> The biggest one I can't seem to get over though is how Higgins has been shot in the left arm twice, yet there isn't a scar from either gunshot wound.
> 
> Anyway, that's just a little peeve of mine for any show or movie. Ooops??


End file.
